Thrillpeddlers present Vice Palace: The Last Cockettes Musical 4/22-7/31

Thrillpeddlers is happy to announce that after its record-breaking 22 month run of the award-winning production of PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI, they are presenting composer Scrumbly Koldewyn's revival of the 1972 Musical revue extravaganza VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical at the Hypnodrome Theatre from April 22 thru July 31, 2011 in SF.

This show is part of our fourth annual Theatre of the Ridiculous Revival. With a book by Martin Worman and music composed by Scrumbly Koldewyn, the show was originally performed by The Cockettes during Halloween 1972 at the Palace Theatre in North Beach. This revival has been extensively revised by composer Scrumbly Koldewyn with additional material that originally appeared in past Cockettes productions.

VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical plays Fri. & Sat. at 8 pm and Sun. at 7 pm. The show opens Fri. April 22. There are no performances Independence day weekend (7/1-3/11). Thrillpeddlers' Hypnodrome Theatre is located at 575 10th St, in SF 94103. (Bryant & Division Sts.) Tickets are $30 gen. admission or $35 for "Shock Boxes" and "Turkish Lounges**" and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/160654 or by calling 1- 800/ 838- 3006.

VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical is loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's hallucinatory short story, "The Masque of the Red Death," and the even more hallucinatory 1964 Roger Corman film of that name starring Vincent Price. It also gives a stylistic nod to the early 1960s films of Frederico Fellini, specifically "La Dolce Vita" and "Juliet of the Spirits". VICE PALACE was originally written as a vehicle for Divine and actress Mink Stole (best known as stars of cult-director John Waters' films), and The Cockettes.

Originally produced as a "Nocturnal Dream Show" and performed at midnight at the old Palace Theatre in Chinatown on Halloween weekend of 1972, VICE PALACE was the fabled and fabulous Cockettes' final stage presentation. The Thrillpeddlers revision will feature selections from other Cockettes shows including "Les Etoiles du Minuit," "Journey to the Center of Uranus," and "The Circus of Life."

The Cockettes were a gender-bending theatrical troupe who not only originated these outrageous shows, but also exerted a profound influence on the culture of our times, from the phenomenon of midnight movies, to glitter rock stars and their outrageous fashions.

VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical is directed by Russell Blackwood, and original Cockette and composer Scrumbly Koldewyn is the Musical Director. Costumes by Kära Emry, lights by Nicholas Torre, sound by Chris Paulina, and make up coordinator Kegel Kater.

2011 dates VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical are:
April (Fri. 8pm / Sat. 8pm / Sun. 7pm) April 22-24, 29-30
(4/22 Fri. Opening Night)
May (Fri. 8pm / Sat. 8pm / Sun. 7pm) May 1, 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, 27-29
June (Fri. 8pm / Sat. 8pm / Sun. 7pm) June 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26
July (Fri. 8pm / Sat. 8pm / Sun. 7pm) July 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31

There are NO performances Independence Day Weekend - July 1-3, 2011.)

Composer Scrumbly Koldewyn plays piano for all performances of VICE PALACE: The Last Cockettes Musical. Thrillpeddler and San Francisco favorites will be featured in this new production, including: Leigh Crow (Divina), Flynn DeMarco (Goldoni), Birdie-Bob Watt (Vagina Dentata), Steven Satyricon (Niccolini), Eric Tyson Wertz (Bella), Ste Fishell (Tonio), L. Ron Hubby (Madame X), T.J. Buswell (Paulo), James Toczyl (Polo), Russell Blackwood (Lucretia), and making his Thrillpeddlers debut as Ricciolini is Joshua Devore. Best known as former porn star Tober Brandt, Mr. Devore (aka Brandt) was named Best Fetish Performer at the 2009 GayVN Awards.

Thrillpeddlers
Thrillpeddlers (www.thrillpeddlers.com) have been performing their unique brand of horror and fetish theatre in San Francisco since 1991. Under the direction of Russell Blackwood, Thrillpeddlers are continuously engaged in translating, adapting and producing classic plays from the infamous repertoire of Le Théâtre du Grand Guignol and producing other works inspired by the Grand Guignol tradition. In 2008, Thrillpeddlers embraced another niche theatrical genre with the company's annual Theatre of the Ridiculous Revival. That same year they were invited to perform for New York City's HOWL Festival with their productions of Charles Busch's THEODORA, SHE-BITCH OF BYZANTIUM, Charles Ludlam's JACK IN THE BEANSTALK, and Link Martin and Scrumbly Koldewyn's PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI (the Revivals' 2009 offering which went on to a twenty-two month run in SF).

The company's SOMA performance venue, The Hypnodrome, is tailor-made for the specific needs of horror theatre, musical extravaganzas, and "lights-out" spook show spectacle. Inaugurating The Hypnodrome with WELCOME TO THE HYPNODROME in 2004, Thrillpeddlers have gone on to produce wildly popular Grand Guignol bills including BLOOD BUCKET BALLYHOO, HYPNODROME HEAD TRIPS, FLAMING SIN, and AUDACIOUS ARTEFACTS. SHOCTOBERFEST!!, Thrillpeddlers' annual pageant of terror and titillation, is now in its 12th year and has become a San Francisco Halloween favorite. Prior to that the company's production history includes the American premiere of Clive Barker's FRANKENSTEIN IN LOVE, MONDO ANDRONICUS (selected Best of the 1997 S.F. Fringe Festival), a double-bill of THE MEDIUM and A CRIME IN THE MADHOUSE (in Pretoria, South Africa). Thrillpeddlers has won the Guardian's "Best of the Bay" and, and back-to-back "Best of San Francisco" awards from SF Weekly. Thrillpeddlers Theatre Company received a coveted 2009 GOLDIE AWARD (Guardian Outstanding Local Discovery award) from the SF Bay Guardian! http://tiny.cc/Lafe5 In 2010, 7 X 7 Magazine named Thrillpeddlers "BEST UNDERGROUND THEATRE COMPANY IN SF". They are also the purveyors of www.GrandGuignol.com the most complete source of Grand Guignol information on the Net.

**About Seating:
Pairs of patrons will surely enjoy Hypnodrome's Shock Box seats for two, which garnered SF Weekly's "Best of San Francisco 2008" for "Best Bonus Theater Experience." These themed seats include sumptuous Turkish Lounges, as well as private boxes including "Heaven and Hell, "The Pharaoh's Tomb," and "Padded Cell," which offer the same opportunity for illicit trysting that was once a feature of the Parisian Théâtre du Grand Guignol - with added special effects as a nod to the 1950s horror movie gimmicks of William Castle.

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